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PHOTO OF THE MONTH: a bright yellow daffodil flowering in a member's garden. Fun fact: there is no difference between "daffodils" and "narcissus", botanical-speaking.

Happy February! 🐿️

Now is a great time to do the following:

• begin your very earliest indoor seed starting--focus on only those plants that need a long head start like peppers, tomatoes, petunias and begonias (things with larger, fast-growing seeds like marigolds/zinnias/etc can wait until next month, and large seedlings like melons,cukes, and pumpkins can wait until even later)

• cut and bring in spring flowering shrub stems to force them to open early indoors. Forsythia and flowering quince are excellent choices, as are plums and almonds

• plant summer-blooming bulbs like amaryllis (Hippeastrum), canna lilies, calla lilies, gladiolus, Asian and Oriental lilies, tiger flowers (Tigridia), and more.

• purchase and plant bare-root deciduous (leaf-losing) fruit trees (apples, pears, nectarines, peaches, plums, persimmons, cherries, etc)--you can find larger trees and more choices than potted trees. Be sure to ask/determine if your tree needs a pollinator, or buy multi-grafted trees with several varieties on the same trunk

• plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb

• prune deciduous (leaf-losing) trees

• clean up any faded camellia blooms to tidy up and prevent disease

• prune leafy shrubs and summer-flowering shrubs (butterfly bush etc), but do NOT prune spring bloomers like forsythia and lilacs--you'll be cutting off their flower buds (prune them immediately after they flower)

• plant bare-root and potted roses

• sprinkle seeds around the garden that need chilling before growing and blooming next year: Shirley poppies, breadseed poppies, California poppies, Nigella ("love in a mist"), California bluebells, and several others

• the cut back chyrsanthemums

• cut back sedums to make space for new growth

• divide dormant or mostly dormant perennial plants (hostas, daylilies, asters, peonies, etc.)

• spray peaches, nectarines, and apricots with a dormant fungicide (usually containing copper) to avoid leaf curl disease

• prune grapevines when dormant; pruning in spring or summer causes them to bleed sap

• start reading the latest seed catalogs (you can request catalogs from their websites or just order directly from their websites too). Some favorites are Burpee Seeds, Park Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Select Seeds and Plants, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Pinetree Seeds, Floret Farms and many more.

• plant perennials, trees, and shrubs

• plant cool weather veggies like kale, Swiss chard, spinach, peas, cilantro and lettuce

• prune roses now--strip off any old foliage to prevent diseases from overwintering

• plant seeds of sweet peas outside

• remember to reduce watering most houseplants when days are short and cool--they use less water during winter

Updated February 2026! 🌟

Many thanks to our January Speaker, rosarian Gwen Quail, who gave an excellent presentation on "Roses throughout the Year".

Photo courtesy of member Sue D.